Risk Heresy!

Several years ago, a mentor charged me at my ordination to ministry, to "Risk Heresy." As I've witnessed the ongoing polarization of this country around concepts of religion and specifically Christianity, this brief charge has been a guiding principle to me as I think through faith and attempt to lead a life of faith myself.

Michael Servetus, above, risked heresy, and struggled against John Calvin.
Servetus also ended up burned at the stake. No one said heresy was easy.

To risk heresy, we must be willing to admit we do not in ourselves have all the answers.

To risk heresy means we must humbly encounter others who have challenging ideas about what God is up to in their life and lives together.

To risk heresy means that we must open re-examine and re-explore our own beliefs and ideas.

To risk heresy reminds us that our faith is not equal to our limited construct of our understanding of the faith.

To risk heresy forces us to remember that ultimately it matters less what we have to do with God than with what God has to do with us.